BioGeny

Colliding neutron stars, gene editing, human origins and more top stories of 2017 A gravitational wave discovery is the year's biggest science story — again.

DNA may offer rapid road to Zika vaccine Researchers are pursuing multiple vaccine strategies for blocking Zika infection.

5 Things You Need To Know Before Donating Blood - Biogeny Twenty-five percent of us will require a blood transfusion at some point in our lives, and the American Red Cross and other organizations have a few guidelines in place to make sure both donors and their sample are eligible and healthy. Here’s what you need to know.. . 1. CHECK TO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIG...

Texas Grandfather Has Burned Hand Sewn To Abdomen In Tummy Tuck Surgery!!

A grandfather in Texas will soon regain function of his hand after doctors cautiously sewed it to his abdomen in an unusual tummy tuck surgery. Casey Reyes, 87, of the Houston area, was rushed to Houston Methodist Hospital where doctors performed the "sci-fi" surgery after he almost lost his hand changing a tire on a trailer.

Prior to undergoing the surgery, medics resorted to conventional methods to save his hand, and even considered amputating the damaged limb. Reyes, who has hearing difficulties, was told by his granddaughter Casey Reyes about the surgery the doctors were planning. “They're gonna [sic] put your hand inside your stomach, kind of like a hoodie,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “I thought it was more or less something out of a sci-fi movie. It sounded crazy. He looked at me kind of funny, but agreed.”

He agreed to the tummy tuck and spent three weeks with his left hand tucked inside a pocket of tissue in his belly. This was meant to give the burned hand time to heal and form a new blood supply. Afterward, doctors were able to cut his hand free of his stomach, and shape some of his abdominal tissue and skin to cover it.

“It’s a funny feeling,” Reyes said in an interview while his hand was still attached to his belly. “Anything to get me well.”

Surgeries like Reyes' are not new. According to doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital, the technique used on Reyes is normally employed on the battlefield or in serious trauma situations. This radical skin graft technique made the difference for Reyes, who otherwise would have had his hand amputated.

Reyes almost lost his hand after trying to change a wheel on his trailer, which slipped off the jack and crushed his hand. He had to wait more than an hour for help to arrive, which gave the super-heated metal time to “cook” his hand, burning through his heavy glove.

Although the surgery was scary, Reyes looks forward to regaining function of his hand for several reasons. “As soon as I'm well enough to drive I want to take a little trip. The main thing I want to do is raise cattle, ride horses. I'm an outdoors person.”

The 2016 in is awarded to

Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa

“for the design and synthesis of molecular machines”

They developed the world’s smallest machines
The 2016 Chemistry Laureates are awarded for their development of molecular machines that are a thousand times thinner than a hair strand. They succeeded in linking molecules together to design everything from a tiny lift to motors and miniscule muscles.

The groundbreaking steps taken by Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Fraser Stoddart and Ben Feringa in developing molecular machinery have resulted in a toolbox of chemical structures that are used by researchers around the world to build increasingly advanced creations. One of the most striking examples is a molecular robot that can grasp and connect amino acids, built in 2013.

Other researchers have connected molecular motors to long polymers, so they form an intricate web. When the molecular motors are exposed to light, they wind the polymers up into a messy bundle. In this way, light energy is stored in the molecules and, if researchers find a technique for retrieving this energy, a new kind of battery could be developed. The material also shrinks when the motors tangle the polymers, which could be used to develop sensors that react to light.

CONGRATULATE Yoshinori Ohsumi, awarded the 2016 in or .
He has discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.
Write your congratulations here on Facebook!